Why Does My Furnace Pilot Light Keep Going Out in Lexington, SC?

Your Lexington, SC, home is getting cold, and you realize the pilot light on your furnace has gone out again. While this may happen from time to time, it shouldn’t be a regularly occurrence. There are some common reasons your pilot light may be blowing out, and it’s straightforward to resolve.

Faulty Flame Sensor

Your furnace has a sensor, commonly referred to as the flame sensor and more appropriately called the thermocouple. This ensures the fuel flowing into the combustion chamber is burning. If it doesn’t sense the flame by way of sensing heat, then it triggers the fuel to turn off.

If the sensor is faulty, it may trigger that cutoff needlessly. This sometimes happens because the sensor has gotten dirty or needs a replacement, which is a common furnace repair. A key indication this is an issue is if the pilot light dies immediately after you release the bypass button.

Air Intake Issues

Nothing can burn without air, which is why a furnace has an intake for the combustion chamber. The pilot light will suffocate if that intake clogs. A strong wind can also snuff out the pilot light because it prevents the air from flowing into the air intake.

Insufficient Fuel Supply

The pilot light depends on receiving fuel to continue burning. Any interruption to that fuel will mean you need to relight it.

While you may not experience the common service interruption associated with the electrical grid, other things can happen. The most common is a faulty gas regulator at the gas meter, which requires your utility company to repair.

Furnace Needs Cleaning

Your furnace needs periodic cleaning to remove the soot produced in the combustion chamber. If this soot settles into the pilot orifice, it’ll restrict the fuel from coming out, eventually snuffing it out entirely. This is a common task during professional maintenance, which your furnace requires annually to continue running efficiently.

Don’t wait for a problem with your pilot light to fix itself. Call to schedule your furnace maintenance services with the award-winning team at Krantz Kooling and Heating today.

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